Albert Camus Philosophy in The Plague Essay example -- Albert Camus P

Albert Camus philosophy in The PlagueTo know ourselves diseased is half our recuperate. - Alexander pontiffAs the title clearly suggests, the novel The Plague is, indeed, a bilgewater of disease. On the surface, the novel The Plague, may be an accounting of facts detailing the clap of bubonic plague in the town of Oran. But on a deeper level, it is a novel that reveals awareness and acceptance of the limits of human existence. And it is also a reminder of our wild freedom and the choices we make in life, especially when approach death. In writing The Plague we are told that Camus sought to convey ... the mental picture of suffocation from which we all suffered and the atmosphere of threat and exile in which we have intercoursed (Bree, 1964128). He was, of course, speaking of the horrors of World War II. But at the same epoch he wanted to extend his exposition to the notion of existence in general (Bree, 1964128). Camus interpretation of existence is revealed in his philo sophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus in which he discusses the absurd and its consequences, revolt, freedom and passion. Some interesting connections can be make between the philosophical discussion in The Myth of Sisyphus and the existential themes institute in The Plague. In The Myth, Camus outlines his notion of the absurd and its consequences in The Plague he brings his philosophy to life. This tale of life and death is told by Dr. Rieux, who maintains that his business is whole to say this is what happened, when he knows that it actually did happen, and that it closely affected the life of a whole populace ... (Camus, The Plague, p.7). Of the novel, Germaine Bree says, considered in its totality The Plague transmits a personal convey ... ..., one way or another(prenominal), and The Plague is a reminder of that absurd fact. The quote at the beginning of this paper, To know ourselves diseased is half our cure has its relevance in the ultimate lesson we learn from The Plague . But there is another lesson to be learned and Camus reminds us of it in The Myth of Sisyphus the point is to live (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, p.65). While facing the horrors of death, the characters in The Plague do an excellent job of bringing that philosophical point to life. Works CitedBree, Germaine. (ed.), Camus Collection of circumstantial Essays. Prentice-Hall Englewood, NJ. 1962.Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays. New York Vintage Books, 1991.Camus, Albert, The Plague. Vintage NY, 1991.Ellison, David R. Understanding Albert Camus. Columbia, SC University of South Carolina Press, 1990.